Mashpee River Reservation is a

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

Mashpee, Massachusetts Mashpee ( wam, Mâseepee) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, on Cape Cod. The population was 15,060 as of 2020. The town is the site of the headquarters and most members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, one of two feder ...

on the

Mashpee River The Mashpee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tidal river on Cape Cod in Mashpee, Massachusetts. The river arises in Mashpee and Wakeby Ponds, fl ...

The Trustees of Reservations The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit orga ...

owns and maintains the park. Pristine

shoreline A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

, natural

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...

areas, and excellent

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

make the Mashpee River one of Massachusetts' finest sources of sea-run

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

. Since at least 1915, spirited

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

efforts have led to the protection of this five-mile

tidal river A tidal river is a river whose flow and level are influenced by tides. A section of a larger river affected by the tides is a tidal reach, but it may sometimes be considered a tidal river if it has been given a separate name. Generally, tidal ri ...

which begins at

Mashpee and Wakeby Ponds Mashpee Pond and Wakeby Pond are adjoining ponds in Mashpee and Sandwich, Massachusetts. When considered together, these two ponds cover and constitute the largest freshwater pond on Cape Cod. This pair is deep at its deepest point. The F ...

and empties into Pirate's Cove on

Popponesset Bay Popponesset Bay System is a group of bays located at the towns of Mashpee (north & west) and Barnstable (east), on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with a southern shore bounded by water from Nantucket Sound. Popponesset Bay has the following tributary ...

. This area has two miles of

trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

through the Mashpee River Reservation plus additional connecting trails on property of other conservation organizations and town and

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

properties. The Reservation's

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

and

trails form a link in the

Cape Cod Pathways A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

History

In the early decades of the 20th century, John W. Farley, an avid

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

and naturalist, acquired contiguous parcels of land along the Mashpee River and established a small

campground A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for camping, overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight u ...

and

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

launch. He donated this land to the public in 1959 and an additional grant by Pemberton Whitcomb in 1979 increased the park's size. The Trustees of Reservations purchased more land in 1998.

References

External links

The Trustees of Reservations: Mashpee River Reservation
{{coord, 41, 37, 22, N, 70, 28, 51, W, type:landmark, display=title The Trustees of Reservations Open space reserves of Massachusetts Protected areas of Barnstable County, Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1959 1959 establishments in Massachusetts